Lost and Found
by morbid bookworm
Summary: Leo's a homeless orphan boy on the run. But when he meets Reyna, he finds somewhere he wants to stay for good. With the help of his new friends, can he convince Reyna of this? AU, pairings are Jasper and Leyna.
1. Chapter 1

_**When you love someone, you love them because of their faults, not despite them. Without their faults, they would not be the person you loved.**_

**Dah, da daaaaaaa! My new motto! Why do I always start my stories on a day when I'm PMSing? Any way, welcome, welcome to my new story. It's totally AU, and the couples are Jiper and future implied Leyna. But at the moment they are much too young, so they are just friends.**

**Disclaimer: What, I really have to do this? Fine. _I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. _I hope you're happy, cause we just wasted a lot of time doing that.**

******Now I'm going to shut up so you can read the story all ready.**

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"Hello young lady, see anything you like?" the woman at the stall asked, gesturing to the selection of fruits and vegetables in front of her.

"Oh, I'm just looking while I wait for my niece," Piper said, smiling.

"Piper!" a familiar voice called, and she snapped out of her thought to see Jason walking towards her, his blonde hair shining gold in the sunlight.

"Hey," he added, grinning as he ducked under the low flap of the awning and joining her and the lady.

"Hi Jason," Piper beamed, and kissed him lightly on the lips in greeting, making them both blush, especially when the lady, whose name tag read _Mellie_, winked and drew to the back of the tent, obviously trying to give them some privacy.

"What are you doing here?" she added.

"Can't a guy see his new wife when he wants to?" Jason teased.

Piper raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I actually came to remind you to get pineapples because Thalia's coming over, but you don't have a cell phone," he admitted.

"Ack! You little thief!" the lady Mellie suddenly shouted, and the two young adults looked up to see her chase away a boy of about nine. He hastily scrambled backwards and was lost in the crowd.

"He stole one of my oranges," she fumed.

"Well it was just one," Piper offered, "And look, I'll pay for it."

"Hmph," was all she said, but accepted the money.

"Hi Jason!" a voice shouted, and Jason was tackled in a hug from Drew, Piper's young niece.

"Drew, you were supposed to meet me here ten minutes ago," Piper scolded.

"Whatever, I mean, you're not my mom or anything," Drew rolled her brown eyes and then gave Jason an adorable look.

"You don't hate me like she does, do you Jason?" she asked in her best little girl voice.

Now it was Piper's turn to roll her eyes.

"Neither of us hate you, Drew," Jason assured her, and then took Piper's hand, leading them both out into the sun.

"Don't you love the farmers market in the morning?" Piper said happily as they walked along the stalls, examining the food.

"This is boring," Drew complained, still hanging on to Jason's other arm.

"Maybe I can entertain you," a voice said, and they turned to see the boy from before grinning at them with a mischievous look in his eye.

"No, we really should be going," Piper started, but Drew cut her off.

"He wasn't talking to you, so mind your own business," she snapped, then gave the boy a sweet smile, "If he wants to put on a show for a pretty girl, he will."

Quick as a snake, the boy plucked a rose from behind her ear, and presented it to her.

Drew took it, beaming.

The boy told her to pluck of all the petals, and when she had, he took it back and passed it through his fist, but when it came up, it had turned thin and wooden. He then touched the tip to his finger and it sparked, sending up a flurry of red sparkles. Twirling it in the air, he traced out a heart and the word love before it fizzled out.

Drew burst into applause, and the older two joined in.

"And for my next trick, I will make myself DISSAPEAR!" he cried, stepping backward and letting himself be swallowed by the crowd.

"That was cool," Piper admitted to Jason, turning away and starting back down the isle, "How do you think he-" but she was cut off by Drew's shriek.

"MY RIBBON! THAT NASTY BOY STOLE MY HAIR RIBBON!" she cried, and burst into tears.

"Don't cry," Piper soothed, bending down to her level, "We'll find him and get it back, all right?"

"I think I see him over there!" Jason pointed, and they gave chase.

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**Well, do you like it? I hope so. Next chapter's coming soon, so review!**

**Okay, I think we all need to accept that I'm terrible at keeping promises and resisting temptation. So I heard it. The Mark of Athena, I mean. Big deal. Honestly, I kind of expected more to be in the first chapter. It was boring.**

_**But**_**, I'm not reading the first five chapters on google. I can waite at least two days. Maybe.**

_**Hey, morbidbookworm, you said you'd be doing your new story over the summer. It's practically october.**_

**Ah, yes, wellllll . . . . *cough cough* the thing is . . . . this isn't the story I was refering to. Apparently, that's going to take a lot longer than I thought. So I thought I'd give you this gift right now, since I just finished it.**

_**Have you been working on other things when you were supposed to be concentrating on that story?**_

**Maaaaaayybee.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wahhhh! I just had to update, ohmygodohmygodohmygod, isn't the Mark of Athena's ending the best! And when they got in trouble for sleeping together, (not that way you pervs) I practically died!**

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The three followed the boy through the crowd and onto the sidewalk, chasing him until he looked behind to see if they were still there and slammed into a telephone pole. Jason grabbed the back on his shirt before he could get away, and dragged him to the girls, kicking and yelling the whole way.

"Let me go, damn it! Put me down and fight like a real man!" he cried, trying desperately to get free.

"All right," Jason said angrily, "Give the ribbon back you little ingrate."

"No!" the boy cried desperately, hiding it in his fist, "I need it!"

"It's mine!" Drew shouted, "Give it back! GIVE IT BACK!"

"Shut up!" Piper yelled, effectively silencing them all. She bent down in front of the boy.

"What's your name?" she asked quietly, searching his brown eyes.

"Leo."

"Leo then. Where is your mother, or your father?"

"Dead," he said tightly.

"Who's taking care of you?"

"I don't need anyone."

"Do you have a home?"

"I ran away. This is the," he stopped to count on his fingers, "Sixth time."

Piper and Jason shared a glance. That explained why he was stealing things instead of buying them.

"Why did you take my sisters ribbon, Leo?"

"Because I can't make one."

Piper raised her eyebrows.

"I mean what are you going to use it for? Boys don't usually need ribbons."

"I need it to wrap a present," he said shiftily.

"A present?"

"For my friend, Reyna."

"Is it her birthday?"

"No. She's sick, so she's going to the hospital. But she doesn't like the hospital, so I'm making her lots of presents to make her feel better. But I can't make ribbons, or oranges. She likes oranges the best."

"Awww." Piper was touched that he would go to such lengths for his friend. She turned to Drew.

"Drew, honey, do you think you could let him have just this one ribbon? You have plenty more at home."

"No!" Drew stamped her foot, "That's my favorite one! I want it back!"

Piper looked at Leo, who was clutching the ribbon protectively, and back at Drew who was smirking, sure she would get her way.

Finally, Piper decided. She stood up dusting herself off, and said to Jason, "Let him go."

Jason released his collar and Piper kissed on the cheek, murmuring in his ear, "Help him while I get Drew back to my mothers house, and then meet me back home." Then she took Drew's arm in a firm hold, and dragged her away, ignoring her shrieks, attempts to kick and bite her, and all the people on the street that were staring at the spectacle.

"So I can keep the ribbon?" Leo asked Jason nervously as the girls raised voices died away.

"I guess so," Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair. He watched as Leo struggled to tie the ribbon around the orange. His tongue poked put out of the corner of his mouth, and his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration.

"Can I help?" he finally asked, and swiftly knotted it in a bow.

"Thanks," Leo muttered sheepishly.

"No problem," Jason said easily, "And here." He took out a pen and paper and wrote down his number on it. "Call me if you ever need anything."

"Okay," Leo agreed, pocketing the paper, and then headed down the street, leaving a bemused Jason watching him go.

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**Review review review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I want to get into this Waldorf high school, but I have to present something I'm passionate about, so I chose writing, and I'm thinking about having one of the samples be this story. So please, please, please let me know if you think it's a mistake.**

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Leo climbed the giant cottonwood tree growing right outside Reyna's window, finally hauling himself over the branch that was closest. He looked in and saw her lying sprawled on her bed throwing darts at the target on the other side of the room. He smiled when he saw she hit a bull's-eye every time.

He tapped lightly on the glass. Reyna jumped about a mile and glared at him. Coming over, she opened the window as far as it would go and leaned out.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, glancing back at her door for any sign someone might be coming. "My mom was so mad when I said I'd let a homeless boy I met at the park into my room."

"Why does it matter if I'm homeless?" Leo asked, "And can I come in before that squirrel decides I'm tastier than her walnuts?"

Reyna hesitated, but stood aside, and he swung lightly into her room, landing noiselessly on the wooden floor.

"I don't know why it matters," she sighed as he straightened up, pretending to brush himself off, smirking.

"Then don't worry about it," he advised her. "By the way, I brought you something."

Reyna's eyes lit up when he pulled out the orange, neatly wrapped in Drew's stolen ribbon. She cupped it in her hands and smiled at him, making him look down, embarrassed.

They sat on her bed together and carefully peeled and split the fruit. Reyna snickered at Leo when he took a piece in between his teeth and smiled, crossing his eyes and wiggling his ears at the same time. She popped her own into her mouth and bit down hard, savoring the squirt of bittersweet juice over her tongue.

"So," Leo started, choosing another section, "When's your operation?"

"Tomorrow," Reyna told him softly. "Mom says I might be there for a while, so I won't be able to see you."

"But when you come back, I'll visit you every day," Leo decided. She smiled at that.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Are you scared?" he finally asked, his brown eyes searching her flinty black ones.

"No," she said confidently, "I know it will hurt, but I am not afraid."

Suddenly there was a knock at her door.

"Reyna!" A voice called, "Open up! We have to go early, you need to pack."

"Coming Mom!" Reyna called back, going slowly so Leo had just enough time to get back through the window before her mother came in.

"Oh honey, you're not even packed," Mrs. Santiago scolded, bustling around gathering clothes into a suitcase. "Now which things do you want to bring?"

Reyna chose her favorite books and a checkers set, but her mother wrinkled her nose at the last one.

"What even is that?" she asked skeptically.

"They're warriors on horses," her daughter said, rather indignant for someone who had done the same thing when Leo first presented the twisted bits of wire and scrap metal.

"Oh. Now that I know, I can see it. Well hurry up, your dad and sister are already in the car."

Reyna looked at her room one last time.

"Goodbye, Leo," she whispered.

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**Review, review, or maybe Reyna won't make it through her surgery. Reviews are better than stitches.**

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	4. Chapter 4

**As you might have noticed, I have absolutely no updating schedual.**

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Leo checked back at her house everyday for the next two weeks. One morning, there was a girl of about sixteen watering the rose bushes on the side of the house, who looked like an older version of Reyna.

"Hello," he called warily from the sidewalk, "Are you Reyna's sister?"

The girl looked up and analyzed him.

"Yes," she said finally, "I'm Hylla. Who are you?"

"I'm . . ." Leo hesitated, remembering what Reyna had said about him being homeless, "I'm Leo, a friend from school."

"It's summer," Hylla pointed out.

"Yeah," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I know. I wanted to see if Reyna was here. When is she coming back?"

Hylla shook her head. "Reyna's . . . still recovering from surgery. She should be back soon."

"Oh."

She turned off the water and started to go inside, then looked back at the boy still standing on the sidewalk.

"I don't suppose . . . you'd like to come in?" she asked tentatively.

"Oh, no thank you," he said quickly.

"Okay. Umm, why don't you give me your phone number, and I'll call you when she gets back. Sound good?"

"All right."

"I'll be right back," she told him, and reappeared a second later with a paper and pencil. "Okay, shoot" she said, looking at him expectantly.

Leo scrambled to think of something, and finally blurted out Jason's number. Hylla scribbled it down and went back inside with a vague, "I'll call you when she gets here. 'Bye, Leo."

Leo slowly walked away, with one thought going through his mind. He was in deep trouble.

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**I'm going to put up another really, really short chapter either later today or tomorrow. Review, and maybe I'll do the next important one tomorrow also!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Jason?"

_"Yeah. Who is this?"_

"It's Leo. You gave me your phone number and said to call if I needed something."

_"Oh right. Uh, so what's up?"_

"Well, I kind of gave your number to someone who's gonna need to talk to me soon. So, if you get a call from someone named Hylla, and she says Reyna's back, it's for me."

_"How will I contact you? What are you using to call me anyway? A pay phone?"_

"Yep. I hang around Half-BloodPark a lot, just go there."

_"What if it's raining?"_

"Than I'm even more likely to be there."

_"All right . . . See you later?"_

"Yeah. 'Bye."

_"'Bye, I guess."_

*Click*

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**Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I'm in a really depressing mood, so give me some positive feedback, all right?**

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It _was_ raining, for the rest of the week. Even so, Leo came around to the back and looked up at Reyna's empty window, blinking through the water that dripped into his eyes.

Finally, one evening when it was dark and stormy, there was a light in it.

Leo could see her family's silhouettes, through the curtain. He waited until they were gone, and then once again climbed the big cottonwood tree, almost slipping on the rain slicked bark. Peering inside, he saw her lying again on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She looked no different, perhaps a bit thinner, her brow furrowed so she seemed angry and defiant.

He could fix that.

Smiling in anticipation, he tapped on the edge on the window. She turned her head toward him with a blank expression, and wouldn't look him in the eye. Frowning when she didn't get up, he tapped harder and motioned for her to let him in.

Slowly with her head bent she shuffled to the window and, after fumbling with the latch, opened it as far as it went.

"Reyna, how are you?" he asked softly, moving forward to enter the room, but she put a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Reyna?" Now Leo was concerned. He reached out and brushed the curtain of dark hair away from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. She was still determinately looking at the floor.

"You should go," she whispered hoarsely, "And don't come back. You aren't welcome here anymore."

"What?" Leo said, shocked. "Why? What did I do? Reyna!"

"Go! Leave already! I don't want you to come here anymore! I don't ever want to see you again!"

He grabbed her head as she turned away and brought it so their noses were almost touching.

"You have to leave!" she repeated more forcefully.

"What happened!" he practically yelled at her, pulling her back, "Why the _hell _are you saying that!? Reyna!" he shook her a little, "Look at me, damn it!"

"I can't!" she burst out, finally lifting her gaze to his face, but her dark, over bright eyes just stared blankly into space. "I can't anymore! I can't see anything!"

Blindly, she tried to fight his frozen grip, ending up placing both hands on his chest and shoving as hard as she could. He tumbled backwards out the window, landing with a thump on his back in the wet grass.

Staring straight up into the cloudy black sky without moving, he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Reyna's frantic voice cut through his silent contemplation. "Leo? Leo! Leo, are you all right?!"

Leo slowly climbed to his feet and looked up through the rain at her frantic face, leaning dangerously far out the window. She whipped her head around uselessly, trying to find him.

"Leo, I'm so-"

"I'm all right," he said numbly. "It's fine. I'll just go now." He turned and started to walk away, still in that state of cold disbelief and confusion. When Reyna's mother's voice floated out, telling her come away from the window or she'd fall and break her neck, he started to run, faster and faster to get away as the tears finally started to fall.

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**Don't kill me.**


	7. Chapter 7

**This chapter doesn't really clear anything up, but due to the _overwhelming _responses from you guys, I decided to post the next few a little earlier than planned. Thank you _SO MUCH_, your reviews really made my day.**

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There was something following him.

As soon as Leo realized that, he slowed to a stop and looked around. The street signs indicated he was well away from Reyna's house. Panting heavily, he scrubbed at his eyes which were swollen from crying and squinted through the rain, trying to see what it was in the dim light of a street lamp.

A giant, scruffy, bronze colored dog trotted up to him and stopped, sitting back on its haunches right under the lamp, about five feet from him.

They stared at each other.

"Don't follow me," Leo said, his voice cracking. He turned away and started walking down the street. The dog got up and started to come after him.

"Go away!" Leo told it, "Go home! I can't feed you if you're a stray, I can barely feed myself!"

It tilted its head and looked up at him with pleading brown eyes.

"Leave me alone!" he cried. "You have to leave! You're not wanted! She-she doesn't want me, all right!? I'm not . . . I'm not welcome."

Leo's face crumpled. He sank to his knees and curled up into a little ball of misery. The rain was still coming down hard and he had no place to go, or anybody who wanted him. He was sore from the fall and exhausted from running. Reyna was blind, and the look on her face had been terrible, he couldn't get it out of his head.

The strange dog lay down beside him and whimpered, nosing his face gently and licking his wet cheeks. When this didn't move him, it let out a pitiful howl and then laid its head on Leo's side, apparently determined to stay there.

"Don't you have an owner or something?" Leo moaned. The dog didn't move, and Leo became grateful for its warmth as the night got colder and wetter.

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**Review Please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AAAAAAAHHHHHH! I LOVE YOU GUYS SO FUCKING MUCH! Thank you a million times for your wonderful reviews, I can't tell you how much it means to me.**

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Finally, the rain stopped and a tentative grey light began to filter through the clouds as the sun rose.

Groaning, Leo stirred under something heavy, and opening his eyes he discovered why. The dog had, sometime in the night, decided that he looked too cold and became his personal blanket. It was now sprawled across his cramped form, also snoozing and drooling all over his sleeve.

As soon as it felt him shift underneath it, the dog blinked sleepily and gave a huge yawn. Then it scrambled up from Leo's back and waited patiently for him to rub the sleep out of his eyes and climb slowly to his feet.

When Leo started walking again, this time with a destination in mind, it silently accompanied him.

He wasn't sure at what point he had realized that he had to see Jason, but now the idea was stuck. Surely he would be able to explain Reyna's strange behavior, and help find the dog's owner. It had a collar, so it must belong to somebody, and they must be frantic looking for it.

Luckily, Jason was the stubborn type.

"Where have you been?" he exclaimed, "I've been waiting here all night!" Decked out in a large yellow rain coat, matching boots and an annoyed scowl, he was not exactly a reassuring sight. None the less, Leo felt better knowing he was there.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I had a bit of a . . . problem. Look, I need your help."

"Well, I got the call and Hylla said you should come and visit. Apparently, Reyna's been really down and her family thinks maybe her friends could cheer her-"

"I can't see her, she doesn't want me to come!" Leo interrupted. His eyes prickled and he rubbed them furiously, refusing to let Jason see him weak.

Jason looked at him closely. He saw a young boy of about nine or ten, painfully thin with unruly, curly brown hair and a pointed chin. His mischievous brown eyes were dull and red from crying, he looked like he hadn't washed in weeks and smelled like the dog next to him. All in all, the cheerful Latino Santa's elf thing he had had going on had almost completely disappeared, replaced with someone lost and desperate.

Jason had never seen anyone so pitiful.

And yet . . . He was frowning fiercely, scrunching up his face to hide the tears. Something terrible had happened, but he was still fighting.

The second he realized that, Jason made his decision.

"C'mon. I'm taking you home."

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**Review pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeease**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, there seems to be a bit of confusion to how old Leo and Reyna are. Allow me to clear that up. They are about eight, nine, ten, kind of young.**

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To her credit, Piper was very calm when she woke up to find a scrawny, grubby dog and the homeless little boy and sitting at her kitchen table, sipping hot chamomile tea with her husband. In fact, the first thing she did was bring out a plate of assorted cookies and offer them to him.

Jason explained all he knew while Leo munched on a ginger snaps and oatmeal raisins, and finally Jason finished with, "So I brought him here, hoping you would know what to do."

Piper nodded thoughtfully. Then she looked at Leo.

"Leo," she asked gently, "Will you tell me what happened?"

He shook his head and looked at the floor where the dog was lying at his feet, snatching up any crumbs he dropped.

"Can't you tell us anything?" Jason groaned, annoyed.

"Don't pester him, Jason," Piper scolded. "Whatever it was must have been very traumatizing."

"All right," Jason muttered, running his hands through his hair, tiredly, "Can you tell us about the dog? Is he yours?"

"No, he's just a stray who followed me around," Leo said quietly, speaking for the first time. "His name his Festus," he added.

"You do realize that means 'happy' in Latin, right?"

Leo shrugged, and took another chocolate chip cookie.

"I'll bet you fifty bucks he just thought of that name just now," Jason told Piper.

"Shut up," she smiled, whacking him playfully on the shoulder. Turning back to Leo, she explained.

"I'm a therapist, so maybe if you told me what happened, I could help you figure it out?"

Leo hesitated, but set down the cookie he was about to take a bite out of, and nodded.

"All right," he said finally, "I'll tell you.

"You see," he started, "One day at the park where I hang out a lot, I made friends with a girl who I'd never met before. Then, when I was hiding from a police officer around the corner, I saw her leaning out of her window. So I climbed the tree outside and we talked in her room, and we did that almost every day this summer. But . . . she was sick and there was something wrong with her heart, so they would have to operate and give her a special medicine. When I found out, I made her warriors out of pieces of metal I'd found to protect her when she went away. I've been waiting for her to come back from the hospital, but," he sniffed and blinked rapidly, "but when she came back she said she didn't want to see me! I don't know what I did wrong! She was fine one day and now she's acting so strange! What happened?"

Piper wrapped both arms around him and he pressed his wet face into her shoulder.

"Shhh," she crooned, "You didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why she was acting weird, but it wasn't because of you."

Leo relaxed into her tight embrace. He could barely remember the last time someone had done this, hug and comfort him without restraint. He didn't mind when she squeezed him even harder, it felt good and she smelled like freshly dug earth and cinnamon cookies.

"We'll help you, Leo," you can ask us for anything," Jason promised.

"And of course, you can stay here as long as you need to," Piper added. Jason eyes widened, but she ignored him and continued, "We'll provide you with room, board, advice and help. Okay?"

The two grownups looked at him. He had fallen asleep on Piper's shoulder.

"Awwww," Piper cooed, "he's cute when he's sleeping."

"Never thought I'd see the day when Piper Grace was fussing over a little boy like a mother hen," Jason told her drily.

"Oh, hush." Piper rolled her eyes, but really she was pleased. She had always wanted a child, and Leo really was sweet.

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**All right! Now that Leo has a bit of support, maybe he'll get back on that horse and talk to Reyna again. If you review, I'll let you hold an ADORABLE sleeping little kid Leo on your lap for half an hour! **


	10. Chapter 10

**This is really just a filler chapter, so I'm posting it early.**

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Leo stayed with them for a week. Piper took him and Festus shopping, and Jason turned the guest room into Leo's. At first, it made Leo uncomfortable, sitting down to at the table with them for a real meal, washing everyday and going to bed at a certain time. But by the next Wednesday, he was bouncing out of bed, racing Festus downstairs and hollering that he wanted the first pancake.

"Leo," Piper started as she handed him a plate of her super special chocolate chip and whipped cream pancakes, which Leo immediately drowned in syrup, "I was thinking, maybe we should go to see Reyna today."

Leo choked slightly, and looked to Jason for help. He was sitting calmly at the table, sipping his coffee and reading the morning newspaper, apparently oblivious to what was happening. Leo's eyes narrowed. So he knew already. They had discussed this.

Traitor.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Piper," he sighed, setting down his glass of orange juice. "She _really_ doesn't want to see me."

"I've talked to her parents. They say she hardly leaves her room, and doesn't want to talk to anybody or go anywhere. They're worried about what will happen when school starts."

Leo looked like he might cry again. "But she said she didn't want me anymore. She has lots of other friends, right? They can go talk to her."

"Not really," Jason sighed, folding up the paper and entering in the conversation. "Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez say she's always been non sociable. She doesn't have any close friends."

"Please, Leo," Piper begged, "This would be good for both of you. I know you miss her, and she must miss you too."

"She doesn't _want_ me there," he repeated, "She doesn't _want _to be my friend."

"Leo, Leo look at me," Piper commanded, lifting his chin up. "Do you want to be her friend?"

"Yes," he whispered, "More than anything."

"Then we'll go to see her," she decided firmly. "At the very least you can say you tried."

Leo shook his head. It would do no good. But inside, a tiny hope began to form. He was going to see Reyna again.

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**Review!**


	11. Chapter 11

_Ding Dong._

"Coming!" a muffled voice shouted. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a tall, black haired man.

"You must be Piper and Jason, and this is Leo, correct?"

"Yes sir," Leo said in a small voice.

"Well come in, come in, make yourselves at home. My wife should be here any- ah, may I introduce my wife, Maria, and my oldest daughter, Hylla."

There were the usual pleasantries, and then they all sat down at the living room sofa.

"You see," Maria explained, "Reyna's always been having problems with her health, but about a year ago it suddenly got much worse. If they hadn't operated, she would have died. We knew there was a chance it would make her go blind, but Carlos and I," she gestured to herself and her husband, "Agreed it would be a good price to pay for our daughter's life."

"But now she's gone into seclusion," Carlos told them tiredly, running a hand through his thinning hair. "We can't get her to do anything. We were hoping that having one of friends come over would cheer her up, especially since she didn't have many to begin with."

"So you're hoping I make her alright," Leo stated dully.

Hylla slid off her chair to kneel next to him.

"Please, Leo, you might be the only one who can make my sister happy again. Will you please try?"

"I can . . . I can try," he said doubtfully.

"Thank you!" she whispered passionately, then got to her feet. "I'll go upstairs and get her, okay?"

As she climbed the stairs, Maria leaned forward. "You don't know how much it means to us that Reyna has found such a good friend," she said earnestly, "We are forever in your debt."

"Seriously, little dude, this means a lot," Carlos added, "You're welcome anytime."

Leo nodded nervously. Everyone was counting on the fact that he could just do some magic friend thingy and make everything better. It was crazy. He couldn't even make other friends either. That's why being around Reyna was so nice, because for once in his life being with someone was easy. Natural.

He looked to the others for help.

Jason smiled encouragingly, and Piper squeezed his shoulder and murmured, "It's going to be fine, Leo, just relax. You do your best, and see what happens."

Their support made him feel much better, but feeling good wouldn't make Reyna like him again. That would take a miracle.

Suddenly, there were footsteps on the stairs. They all looked up to see Hylla leading Reyna down by the hand. When they reached the bottom, Hylla said, "Someone's here to see you, Reyna."

"I can't see anyone," Reyna said coldly. Everyone winced.

"I mean they want to talk to you," her sister sighed.

"Well I don't want to talk to anyone," Reyna snapped, "Now take me back upstairs."

Maria motioned frantically at Leo. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and turned around.

It had been so long since he had seen his best friend, last it seemed like years, rather than weeks.

She looked tired and angry, with circles under her eyes.

"Hey Reyna," he choked out.

He watched as her eyes widened at the sound of his voice.

As she started shaking.

As she ran screaming from the room.

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**Ahem. So, review?**


	12. Chapter 12

Everyone scrambled to their feet.

Leo was the first after her, running as fast as his short legs would carry him. Reyna had somehow made it outside, falling and scraping her hands when she forgot the steps, but then got up and continued on.

"Wait! Reyna, hold on!" he cried desperately.

"Go away!" she shrieked over her shoulder. Leo bit back a colorful retort Jason had taught him before putting on a burst of speed and managing to grab her hand.

"Stop running like a crazy person!" he growled, pulling her to a stop, "And listen to me!"

She kept struggling, screaming, railing at him with everything she had. Finally Leo grabbed her shoulders and shook her, hard.

"You idiot! Who cares whether you can see or not, you're not ready to go off by yourself and decide who can care about what happens to you and who doesn't! I care whether you like it or not! So just . . . just calm down."

Reyna had stopped trying to pull away, and was now standing there, sobbing quietly.

"I want . . . I want to see you!" she sobbed. "It's too dark Leo! I want to see!"

Leo wrapped his skinny, nine year old arms around her protectively. She clung to his shirt, crying so hard it was like her heart was breaking. Leo imagined how it would feel if you suddenly realized you would never see the sky, or the first snow fall, or the stars, the faces of your friends and family, the mirror reflecting your own image, you would never see those things again. And now his heart was breaking too.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered, "We're still here. Even if you can't see us, we'll always be here." He rocked her gently, and after a few minutes, she subsided into shuddering gasps and shakes.

Suddenly, Reyna stiffened.

The grown ups, who had been watching the scene unfold from the porch, gasped and screamed.

"LEO, LOOK OUT!" Jason bellowed. Leo looked up to see that he and Reyna were standing in the middle of the street, with a giant fourteen wheeler truck hurtling straight at them at top speed. Too frozen to do anything, Leo just stared in mute horror, as his death approached, not aware of Reyna wriggling in his arms and shouting at him to move. The others were to far away to help.

Then, a massive wall of fur hit them from the left, knocking them to the side. They fell heavily, and Leo cracked his head painfully on the pavement. Luckily, Reyna was still trapped in his embrace, so she was protected from the fall.

Leo looked up to see the truck had managed to stop at the end of the street, and now the driver was getting out and hurrying towards him, with the adults following.

"Shit, kid, are you all right?"

He started rambling about how the brake took awhile to affect the wheels at top speed, and then Piper was yelling at him, and Maria was sobbing. Jason and Carlos went to help the children, but Leo had eyes only for the furry mound on the street, that wasn't moving.

"Festus," he croaked. The world started swimming, and then went black.

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**DON'T KILL ME! But all reviews are appreciated. If you don't review, I might have to draw out the wait for the next and final chapter a looooooooong time.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, I wasn't planning on updating until tomorrow, but I'm currently having a complete mental breakdown, so you got lucky.**

**It's very intersting. You all seem to be under the impression I am not above killing Festus. I may be a masochistic, immoral, torturous person, who revels in other peoples limited pain and problems, but to _kill Festus_? That hurts you guys. That hurts a lot.**

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"Hey, Leo?" Reyna asked one day as they were sitting outside in her backyard, playing with Festus. The vet had said he'd be back on his feet in a few weeks, but until then there was a nasty splint and bandages that he kept trying to chew off.

"Yeah?" Leo looked up curiously.

"I was wondering . . . when summer is over, will you go to school? I know you're living with Piper and Jason right now, but are you going to stay with them?" She scrunched Festus's silky ears, and he gently nosed her chin. "Are you going to leave?"

When Leo didn't answer, she frowned. "Leo?"

He let out a long breath.

"Piper said . . . Well, she said that if I wanted . . . If I wanted, I could stay. Jason's a teacher, so he could tutor me until I can keep up with normal fourth graders. And I can stay with them as long as I want, they can get all the legal papers and everything so they have custody of me. But I don't know. I'd like to stay, but I don't know if it's right."

"They said they'd adopt you?"

"I guess."

Reyna was quiet for a minute as they stroked Festus, making his tail thump up and down.

Finally, she asked, "What happened to your parents, Leo?"

"Did I never tell you that story?"

"No," she murmured, and buried her nose in Festus's soft fur, "But I'd like to know."

"My dad died, or maybe disappeared before I was born, I don't remember him at all. But my mom . . . well, she was the best. I remember how I liked watching her working in our machine shop, she'd always explain what she was doing, even if it was really complicated, and she'd sort of mix up Spanish and English so I'd really have to concentrate to understand. She died a couple years ago, in a fire."

"Were you happy with her?"

"Yeah. Really happy."

"Are you happy now?"

Leo thought about it. He still missed his _mama _like crazy, but he loved being with Piper, who was so kind, and Jason, who was strong, and Jason's sister Thalia, who thought he was annoying. And Festus, who was the only _un_complicated part of his life. He wanted to stay with Leo, and Leo wanted to stay with him. It was that simple. And then there was Reyna. His best friend. His best friend who needed him now more than ever. And who he couldn't ever imagine leaving.

"Because if you are happy, I think that your mom would want you to stay. She'd want you to be happy." Reyna reached out her hand in front of her. "I want you to stay too. I want to go to school with you, and play with you and Festus and listen to you speaking Spanish and making jokes. If you left, I don't know what I'd do. I'd have no one to hold my hand and lead me where I can't see. So will you stay? Please?"

Leo smiled tenderly and took her small hand in his own.

"Of course I will. I'll stay as long as you need me. We'll make lots of new friends together, and play with each other everyday. And I'll make you a new warrior whenever you feel lonely. Okay?"

"Okay."

Festus barked his agreement and they both laughed.

Eventually, they both went back to school, and though Reyna's disability hampered her in many ways, Leo was always there to support her. Piper and Jason did adopt him, and they were very happy, until Piper got pregnant and Leo had a new little brother, Buford, on whom he doted like a second father.

When they were sixteen, Leo and Reyna started dating, and after ten years of fighting, breaking up, making up and getting together again, they finally got married and started a family of their own. And now they are sitting on the porch of a retiring home, surrounded by their grandchildren and Festus's great, great, great grandchildren, eating oranges.

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**The end. So, please honor the fact that I _DIDN'T_ kill off Festus, (Ugh, I shudder to think of it,) and review please.**


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